BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:df7ba32fcd89f3f6f17cb58ce66f7e0e CATEGORIES:Europe CREATED:20170802T121419 SUMMARY:Iceland: Land of Fire & Ice DESCRIPTION:
An other-worldly accident of volc anoes, glaciers, waterfalls, lava fields, geysers, fjords and black sand be aches, Iceland must be seen to be believed. Astride the American and European tectonic plates, this island on the edge of the Arctic Circle is s till being shaped by the geologic forces that created it. And, with f ewer than one-third of a million people, wildness dominates. The qual ity of the birdlife here cannot be understated. Perusing the mossy fi elds beyond the capital city of Reykjavík, common roadside birds include Sn ow Bunting, Common Redshank and European Golden-Plover, executing slow-moti on, butterfly-like display flights. The lumbering take-off of an imme nse White-tailed Eagle may also freeze our progress. Along the Snæfellsnes peninsula, nesting Parasitic Jaegers and Red-throated Loons do t the tundra and coastline. Lava fields abut the glacier-filled volca no Snæfellsjökull, home to Rock Ptarmigan and Northern Wheatear. Basa lt cliffs hold colonies of all five of Iceland’s breeding alcids, including Thick-billed Murre, plus large numbers of Black-legged Kittiwake. Pu rple Sandpipers at Grundarfjörður are downright tame, and with luck a knobb y-billed King Eider can be teased out from the more numerous Common Eiders. Orcas are frequently spotted just offshore. A short boat excur sion among the innumerable islets of Breiðafjörður Bay provides excellent v iews of Atlantic Puffin, Black Guillemot, and European Shag. Pink-foo ted Geese graze in the valley bottoms, and rushing rivers harbor the improb ably patterned Harlequin Duck, while Eurasian Wren and Redwing fill wooded lots. We’re sure to encounter the magnificent Whooper Swan – at up to 30 pounds, one of the world’s heaviest flying birds. The picturesque town of Húsavík has emerged as a whale-watching hub: White-beaked Dolphin, Minke, Humpback, and Blue Whale are regulars. Nearby, Lake Mývatn of fers a smörgåsbord of breeding avifauna. The main attraction, the pow erful Gyrfalcon, can occur anywhere in the vicinity. Breeding nowhere else in Europe, Barrow’s Goldeneye shares the tundra ponds with Common Sco ter, Eurasian Wigeon, Long-tailed and Tufted Ducks. Other boreal bird s include Short-eared Owl, Merlin, Common Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwi t, White Wagtail and Meadow Pipit. Naturally we won’t overlook stunni ng waterfalls such as Europe’s largest, the thundering Dettifoss – flowing at a rate of 500 cubic meters per second. Returning southward, we’ll take in the geothermal field at Geysir, origin of the very word “geyser.”&n bsp; We’ll marvel not only at this namesake feature, but also at the famous Strokkur, erupting every 10 minutes to heights of 100 feet or more. Iceland’s ubiquitous natural hot springs are just the surface expression of unimaginable subterranean energy–it is noteworthy that all of Iceland’s el ectricity is generated from geothermal and hydropower. With no standi ng army and virtually non-existent crime, Iceland is ranked as the most pea ceful country in the world. Join us this summer under the midnight su n in one of the world’s most unique and welcoming destinations.
Leader: John Yerger
Cost of
Iceland includes all accommodations, all meals, all ground tr
ansportation, and all entrance fees beginning and ending in Reykjavik—
TO REGISTER: Print out a PDF Registration Form, call us at (520) 558-2351 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need J avaScript enabled to view it..
Photo: Kirkjufell and waterfall, Iceland
Photo by: David Mark